Senior Vice President, Gladstein, Neandross and Associates
New York City

After more than 20 years directing the Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rich joined Gladstein, Neandross and Associates (GNA) in June 2012 to lead its New York and east coast operations. GNA is one of the nation's leading environmental consulting firms, and specialises in working with government, corporate, and non-profit clients to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.

Rich is an expert on policies, projects, and technologies to reduce emissions from heavy-duty, non-road, and marine engines. For example, he co-chaired the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Clean Truck Work Group, which developed the port's plan to reduce drayage truck pollution; has advised the US and other governments on diesel pollution issues; and was a member of the US delegation that secured the North American Emission Control Area in 2010.

Over the next two days, I will be attending Creating Climate Wealth, a conference organised by the Carbon War Room.

By bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, advocates and others, the Carbon War Room folks hope to come up with strategies to unlock investment and achieve large-scale deployment of pollution-cutting technologies and ideas that are ready to go.

Every year, 100,000 ships around the world emit a gigatonne of CO2, which will increase to 1.6 gigatonnes/year by 2020. It has been estimated that these ships could reduce their fuel consumption by 30-60% percent using existing technologies, depending on the age, size, and model of the ship Over time, the Carbon War Room folks think that a gigatonne of CO2 emissions could be avoided.

As I have written many times before, today’s ships typically use an extremely dirty, high-sulphur bunker or residual fuel. This fuel leads to high emissions of sulphur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter - pollution that triggers health impacts like asthma emergencies, bronchitis, cancer, and thousands of premature deaths in the US every year, plus increased environmental impacts like ground-level ozone and acid rain.

Over the next four years, ships travelling within 200 nautical miles of the US and Canadian shores will have to switch to a lower-sulphur, cleaner fuel and start using effective anti-pollution control technologies.

These are the two key components of the Emission Control Area (ECA) programme that was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) last year.

Implementing the ECA programme will have fantastic health benefits, including the elimination of roughly 14,000 premature deaths and $110 billion in health costs annually by 2020.

But this distillate fuel will cost more than today’s dirty bunker fuel – only pennies a gallon more, but multiply that by the millions of containers travelling around the world, and it adds up to a powerful new reason to find more efficient ways to operate to offset their higher fuel costs.

And we need to succeed at this effort. Every dollar of implementation cost will yield an estimated $34 in health benefits. It’s hard to find a better investment in public health, even with rising concerns about the price of fuel.

It will take many interrelated actions to achieve large-scale, global efficiency improvements. But the Carbon War Room experts think a 30-60 % efficiency improvement is feasible, and I agree. But here are a few examples of steps that we’ll need to see to achieve this improvement:

* Better information will be necessary. Ship efficiency ratings can provide credible information to the various stakeholders involved in getting a container from point A to point Z.

* Better standards and rules will be necessary. This would provide uniform performance metrics for the various industry stakeholders involved, and consistent market signals that can guide future investment. That’s why it is so important that the IMO finish its work to create an energy efficiency regime for ships, something that’s on the agenda for its upcoming meeting in London in July. Ultimately, we need a regime that covers both new and existing vessels, given the long life of today’s ships.

* Investment capital will be needed. To fully maximise future efficiency potential, shippers need access to capital now to help make upfront capital investments that will translate into reduced operating costs in the future.

* Better use of technology will be needed. Even something as relatively simple as weather-routing software could improve efficiency by as much as 10%.

* Local and regional incentives and programmes will need to align with the broader goal of improving overall system efficiency. US ports, for example, should offer incentives to drive more efficient ships to our shores when the ECA rules go into effect in 2015. This would reduce local and regional air pollution, car carbon, and help offset any increased per-gallon fuel costs of the ECA program.

Over the next two days, it should be exciting to discuss these, and other, ideas with some of the best minds in the shipping world. *For more information on Creating Climate Wealth visit www.sustainableshipping.com

Rich Kassel,

4th May 2011 18:15 GMT

Comments on this Blog

Heinz Otto - Windships

5th May 2011

HI Rich Kassel,it is a good step, you suggest in your arear of the northamerican ECE. But it needs mor for the world, because: the ships emissions more GHG on their way fron coast to coast, than in the 200 Nm-zone.And for this long distances, you can save GHG mostly by using windpowered ships. The "slow steaming" of the last years has showed: it is possible to serve the people with their goods, they have ordered with "slow steamed" ships. Then ist MUST be possible, to create a worldwide transportlogistic by ships like www.sailing-traders.com . don´t forget: Peakoil gives additional pressure, to check this way out.All the best from Heinz Otto from www.windships.de

Daniel Kane - Propulsion Dynamics Inc.

6th May 2011

Hello Rich. Do keep us posted on the outcomes of the conference.

Caroline Clarke

16th May 2011

Salutations,

After journeying 34 hours to arrive in Washington, can I make mention of the most generous hospitality of our hosts. The National League Ball Park where the forum was held provided a clear insight into building sustainability. The Shipping and freight track provided various opportunities on project development. Those projects levered off standards accorded under independent verification will realise their efforts. Well done CWR yet another very fine industry example on how bringing industry participants together - opportunities can be more clearly discerned.

Kind regardsCaroline

Graham Taylor - Unlimited Energy Technologies

24th June 2011

New Topic!

How do I reduce my passenger ships electrical generating load by a minimum 5% (guaranteed), and you wont have any cap ex in doing so. Graham Taylor Unlimited Energy 24th June 2011 NEW TOPIC (Continued)

As peter boyd stated "many shipping technologies are sitting on the table, ours are not,we have actually moved them into the bottom draw to gather dust, as the shipping industry is simply not interested in high tech technology to reduce the fuel and GHG emissions, or their is to much red tape to get through.

Their is one technology that we have not put in the draw, as this technology anyone can understand and will know how to use to save energy, all you have to do to save energy with this low grade technology is turn the blody thing off, I am of course referring to the incandescent light bulb.

With the next generation light bulb,the LED light bulb/LED tube or LED cieling lighting panel, you dont have to keep turning these off as the operational energy consumption is Negligible.

In 20002 we completed the relamping of the Saga Rose with some 5,000 CFL lamps, at that time the LED product was not developed enough to be of any use as a light bulb, but now they are.

So if you want to save energy from your generator that is producing electricity for the lighting on board your ship, and save some 400kw (as the Saga Rose did in 2002), then read the following open letter to all parts of the shipping industry, whether you are new build or refurbishing, or simply looking to save energy with a nil risk on the technology being employed, and a nil capital expenditure.

We are introducing “new” low energy lighting products (LEDs) to Cyprus, as we did with the compact flourescent lamps (CFLs)some 8 years ago, but the LED lighting products have a far better softer light ambience, and they will reduce the electrical power usage by some 50% below the wattage of a CFL, and last (5) times longer (72,000hrs/ 6 years) guaranteed

In 2000 we relamped the Saga Rose vessel with some 5,000 CFL lamps, and in 2002 we installed some 3,000 various designed compact flourescent low energy lighting products (CFLs) throughout the Hawaii Grand Hotel in Limassol, and we are now in the process of installing our "new" LED low energy designed lighting productsthrough out the Hawaii Grand Hotel, / Lordos beach hotel/Venus beach hotel after our detailed lighting design survey is completed.

Our services to carry out a designed low energy lighting survey throughout the hotel, is to ensure the LED lighting ambience for specific areas is to your satisfaction.

We would be delighted to present to you how pleasing to the eye our LED lighting products are, by installing our LED lamps in an area of your hotel, which is part of our low energy lighting design services.

A lighting energy bill is some 8% of a 200 bedroom 4-5* hotel total electricity bill, and our LED lighting products will reduce this by a minimum 80% of yourexisting incandescent lighting electrical load for the hotel.

If you instruct us to undertake the low energy lighting design survey, we will offer our LED products over a 6 year shared energy savingpayment term bases, where we will supply LED products free of charge and the energy our LED products save will be the amount we devide in an agreed % energy saving share, our LED products, have a guaranteed life expectancy of 6 years, so you wont buy another lamp or have to relamp for 6 years, and you save energy / fuel in doing so.

Please contact us by email to discuss the above in greater detail, or if you prefer to simply purchase our LED products without a lighting design service, our office in limassol or the UK will be delighted to assist you with your requirements.

HI you all:Today and tomorrow the world discusses in Berlin, as for now the climatically important limiting temperature increase below the "max 2 degrees" can be held.The IMO and the maritime industry worldwide are required to plan, more than just SECA or EEDI or exhaust scrubber! These instruments are not even this year with the much needed CO2 reduction effects to be expected.Germany has an annual CO2 emission rate of approximately 1 Giga-To. Germany has reduction programs and wants to meet its obligations including the use of solar and windpower.The world shipping also emits approximately 1 Giga-To CO2 per year. The world shipping has not been comparable to practical countermeasures. I call on the media by IMO and ship owners' associations, to address the new sailing ships and to consider what to www.modern-merchant-sailing-vessel.com and www.sailing-traders.com is recorded. In the sailing ship ride is a chance for the climate-protection and so could the "Petersberg Climate Dialogue" send as preparation for the UN Climate Summit in Durban an important signal. Heinz Otto; www.windships.de

Graham Taylor - Unlimited Energy Technologies

9th July 2011

Rich

Your comment " shippers need access to capital now to help make upfront capital investments that will translate into reduced operating costs in the future."

If the shipping industry requires investment capital, we have up to £50,000,000 of it to invest with the shipping industry, where we have offered it for the last 2 years with our renewable energy technologies to reduce fuel consumption/GHG emissions, but still no takers, as the owners say they dont pay for the fuel, the charterer pays for the fuel, but the charterer says thjey are not liable for any equipment on the ship to reduce fuel consumtion, the owner is.

We are now offering a low tech technology (see blog on light bulb)that can be fitted in a matter of seconds and without any tooling,and without any capital cost, and we guarantee the energy savings/monetary related savings and the GHG savings, (simple).

Graham Taylor - Unlimited Energy Technologies

9th July 2011

Caroline

You commented "Excellent insight - Ships of our future,"

You are totally wrong, for over 100 years we had the incandescent light which was 5% efficient, and for the last 15 years we had the CFL which was 60-70% efficient, and saved 50% energy compared to the incandescent lamp, now we have the LED light bulb which is 99.9999999999999999999999999999% efficient, and saves 92% of an incandescent lamp and 80% of a CFL lamp, and the LED last 100 times longer than a incandescent lamp, and 20 times longer than a CFL lamp.

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